


Little Thief

by RedBloodTea



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, Adoption, Airports, Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Cats, Damian Wayne Has a Heart, Gen, There's A Tag For That
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-07
Updated: 2020-04-07
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:42:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23522509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedBloodTea/pseuds/RedBloodTea
Summary: Bruce Wayne did not plan this, but he sure doesn't mind having another child.A kid steals from a rich lady, and Bruce adopts her because he's Bruce Wayne and he has a problem.
Relationships: Barbara Gordon/Dick Grayson, Stephanie Brown/Cassandra Cain, Tim Drake/Jason Todd
Kudos: 34





	1. Chapter 1

When Debbie Ester's purse got stolen, Bruce Wayne never intended to even look at the case. After all, she could afford hundreds of the exact same purse, and not even notice the difference. But then Damian started laughing at the footage, he knew something interesting must have happened. Damian still didn't laugh often, even if now it wasn't only at the pain and suffering of his enemies. He was now glad he at least looked at the footage, it was beautiful.  
**********  
At first, the airport looked normal. Just people waiting and rushing around to the various places they had to get to. Then things quickly decended to chaos.  
The first sign of something weird beginning to happen was the increase in volume of the music that played in the background. At first, the change was minuet, barely even noticeable. Then it suddenly increased, so that it was playing quite loudly. Everyone stilled when this happened. Except for one little girl, standing by a muffin stand.  
She slipped into action, like a little shadow. This strange girl in a vibrant red panache, then silently snagged the purse right underneath Mrs. Ester's chair, which was easily worth ten thousand, maybe more. Then, she just walked away. Now here is were things started to get strange.  
As she walked away, the music stopped completely, and Mrs. Ester noticed that her purse was missing. She started shouting about how the officers had to catch the rat that did this, and the guards that were around went twords the only moving person. The girl in the red panache.  
The girl started running and barreled over a small, older man, then picked him up and darted around him with a shout of "Sorry Mister!" as she went off.  
The police chased her down the long section of the airport, and she all most got out before they caught her. But even then, the girl smiled, and started to hum?  
The police paused and looked at each other, which was apparently a bad idea, and as soon as they did this, the girl lunged.  
She first bit the hand to the man that was restraining her, and Bruce saw blood when she let go. She downed one man, and jumped onto the shoulders of another, and then onto the last one, jumping off of his face onto one of the covers of the food stands, rolling right off it and onto the ground, were she started running twords the exit.  
What really took the cake though, was what she shouted when she ran off.  
"I'm the girl in the raspberry burei, and don't you forget it, nitheads!"  
That made Bruce remember a song he heard once. How did it go again? She wore a raspberry burei, and I think that I love her...


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our little thief tries to steal something a little to precious.

Aithne didn't know her last name. It used to be Arlott, back when her dad was still alive. Then Mum took back her maiden name of Bayard, and forced her to take it too. When Mum got married, she had to take that bastard's name. What kinda name is Boggis, anyways?   
No, she decidedly was not, Aithne Boggis.  
Nothing really made sense after Boggis took her mum an' the funds and ran off.  
She lasted a couple of days before she had to leave. Boggis didn't pay for anythin', of course.  
Aithne choose to run, and after booking a ticket for Metropolis, she left.  
Metropolis was not good for Aithne. It was too bright, too clean. Someone couldn't be homeless and not get questions from 'well meaning citizens' worried about her 'future'. Definitely not for her.  
She needed somewhere with no questions. She need somewhere where another pickpocket wouldn't even be glanced at. And where better then the city right across the bay?  
Gotham would take her gladly.  
Aithne was right.  
It did.  
It took no money to cross. Just a pinched rowboat and a touch of luck. She had gorged herself on the innocent people of Metropolis, the 'Golden' City, as it is called. Always acting like they were better, just because their side alleys weren't specked with blood.  
So she went to someplace that was a lot different. A place where people ate every pick they could find. A place where the pickings were either too lean to survive, or too full to last.  
She loved it. She loved the way the shadows reached to steal and swaddle. She loved being ignored at the best of times and attacked at the worst. She loved that she could wear her raspberry panache, and have no one look at her weirdly.   
There are a lot werider things in Gotham than a short girl with bright red hair and a crimson hat.  
She got good at the game. She had figured out how to be what felt like hundreds of different people, how to blend in, how to dress, how to act. She learned through pain and struggling and hardship. But she learned.

**********

Aithne Arlott didn't mean to get caught up with Gotham's bats.   
She meant to steal a purse off a too rich for words lady, and then fence it. She meant to use the money to get a nicer coat, some food, and maybe pay a mediocre hacker to create her a new existence so she could rent an apartment. She meant to forget about this lady and this job, and never go to the airport again.  
As you can probably guess, none of these things ended up happening. Or at least, the last one didn't.  
The job went fine, it got a bit choppy there at the end, but nothing she couldn't handle. It's what happened afterwords, that bit her in the rear.  
She ran off, of course. And she thought she got away scot-free. But then the Signal showed up.  
And the Signal saw Aithne running from the airport as fast as her legs could take her. So they were, 'concerned'.  
No one, not even one of the bats, is really concerned about you. Everyone wants something from you.  
Aithne told the Signal a few white lies, and a couple gray ones, and expected to be let go.  
This didn't happen.  
They took her to the top of one of Gotham's many too tall and dramatic buildings (after getting her consent, but what was she gonna do, refuse? They clearly didn't believe her lies and wanted to talk to her!)  
What happened next, though, is what really surprised her about the whole business.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I have made another chapter. I'm not sure if it's even sorta good. Please tell me.

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first time I've ever written on AO3, but not in general, tell me if you like it!


End file.
